Beaver College Foundation is proud to announce and join the Arcadia community in a celebration of a new $1M gift from Life Trustee Rosemary D. Blankley ’57, ’06H, designated to restore the University’s iconic Gatehouse Arch. The arch and its pathway, located perpendicular to The Alumni House at Blankley Hall, will now be known as The Rosemary D. Blankley ’57 Gatehouse Arch and Walkway. The Alumni House at Blankley Hall, the former welcome center for the Grey Towers Castle, is a home away from home for nearly 40,000 alumni, symbolizing the enduring connection between Beaver College, Arcadia University, and generations of its graduates.

With this gift, Blankley becomes the largest living donor of her alma mater as she expands her extraordinary legacy of transformational philanthropic support. Her February 2026 gift marks the second $1M gift she has made to support Arcadia University. In a giving history that has spanned over 65 years, her leadership giving has always been focused on stabilization, impact, and transformation. For example, Blankley, and her late husband Walter, provided the 2023 funding to renovate The Alumni House at Blankley Hall to ensure that alumni could feel a grand sense of pride. Also, during the 2005 World Class Campaign, the Blankleys established a professorship in the School of Education to ensure faculty could be well-recognized and supported, and also provided philanthropic support to help to build the University Commons. Over her more than six-decade giving history, she has been a stalwart donor to The Fund for Arcadia with her first gift made in the amount of $5 in 1960. Today, her generosity continues to breathe new life into her beloved alma mater.

“The Alumni House at Blankley Hall is an important part of campus. I thought to myself, ‘If I restore the Gatehouse Arch, I could complete that area of campus in a meaningful way,’” said Blankley.

Originally constructed in the 1890s as part of the Harrison estate, the Gatehouse Arch stood for 129 years as a defining architectural feature of Arcadia’s campus. Serving as an iconic entryway for students of Beaver College and later Arcadia University, the Gatehouse Arch became both a physical and symbolic gateway to the University community. In 2020, the structure was carefully dismantled–and each stone retained–after structural instability raised safety concerns.

Following the necessary authorization to dismantle the arch, University Advancement began planning for its restoration with projected costs of approximately $1M. In keeping with preservation principles, Arcadia has salvaged and will repurpose as much of the original material as possible, ensuring that the restored structure maintains its architectural integrity and historical significance of the original monument.

“The impact that Rosemary Blankley has had on Arcadia University, its students, and its campus cannot be overstated,” said Tom Macchi, associate vice president for Facilities and Capital Planning. “This generous gift from Rosemary to restore the landmark Gateway Arch reflects a deep and enduring commitment to Arcadia and its vibrant community.

“The Blankley family’s philanthropy has played a transformative role in shaping the University’s campus and enhancing the student experience. Their support has funded renovations and improvements to the iconic Blankley Alumni House, and made possible the creation of the beautiful Blankley Pavilion and Softball Field Complex. Together, these contributions demonstrate the extraordinary generosity that Rosemary, and her late husband, Walter, have shown over the years in support of Beaver College and, later, Arcadia University.

“We look forward to performing the careful and historically faithful restoration of the Gateway Arch.”

For generations, the Gatehouse Arch has held a special place in the life of the University as well as the surrounding community. It served not only as a gateway to campus, but also as a lasting symbol of legacy.

“While I understood why the Arch had to be dismantled, I felt an immediate sadness. I made up my mind then that it had to be restored. Now, I had no idea how that was going to happen, but I have faith that it could be done,” said Brigette A. Bryant, vice president for Development and Alumni Engagement. 

She continued, “And here we are…I thank Rosemary Blankley for being an angel willing to complete the project and Ken Samen ’92 and Melissa Samen ’93 for being the first to make a gift as well as all the other donors who followed their lead.”

Blankley’s gift arrives at a particularly meaningful moment as Arcadia University celebrates the 25th anniversary of its renaming from Beaver College. The restoration of the Gatehouse Arch honors the institution’s past while welcoming a new generation of Knights to campus.

Co-historians, Violet Babb ’28 and Miranda Davis ’27, of the Society for Castle Restoration shared that, “The excitement of our student body cannot be understated. We are overjoyed to see the history of Arcadia, Beaver College, and the Harrison estate be celebrated. We are eager to continue to preserve our history, traditions, and beloved original buildings moving forward so that the Arcadia community may continue to enjoy them for years to come. It is restoration projects like these that honor the history of our community whilst laying the foundation for the future.”

Through her philanthropy and leadership, Blankley has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to strengthening alumni spaces and preserving the heritage of the University she loves. Once restored, The Rosemary D. Blankley ’57 Gatehouse Arch and Walkway will again stand as a gateway—bridging Arcadia’s campus with the Glenside community and the world.

Beaver College Foundation and Arcadia University are deeply grateful for Blankley’s remarkable dedication and generosity, which will ensure that this historic landmark continues to inspire students, alumni, and visitors for generations to come.